SoftBank nears US$1B investment in Colombia's Rappi

Ed Hammond, Bloomberg News

The shadow of Ken Miyauchi, executive vice president at SoftBank Corp. and chief executive officer of SoftBank's mobile unit, is cast against a screen displaying the company's logo.
, Photographer: Bloomberg/Bloomberg

SoftBank Group Corp. is close to making a US$1 billion investment in Latin American delivery app Rappi, according to people familiar with the matter.

The investment is likely to be led by the Japanese company’s newly formed Innovation Fund, which was launched by Softbank Chief Operating Officer Marcelo Claure to focus on technology investments in Latin America, the people said, who asked not to be identified as the details aren’t public. It’s expected to invest alongside the conglomerate’s Vision Fund, the person said.

A deal could be announced as soon as this week, the people said. It could be one of the largest investments ever in a Latin American company.

Representatives for SoftBank and Rappi declined to comment.

Colombian startup Rappi was valued at more than US$1 billion in its last fundraising round in September, in which it raised US$220 million led by DST Global. It wasn’t immediately clear how much the company would be valued at after the SoftBank investment.